Flash light or battery hand lamp



Patented/Sept.' 19,1922.

aan i A. W. WELLINGTON. v FLASH LIGHT 0R BATLERY HAND LAMP.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I4, ISJZI.

ARTHUR w. WELLINGTON, or WATNRBURY, CONNECTICUT,

' COMPANIES, INC., OT WATERBUNY, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION.

FLASH LIGHT on :BATTERY HAND LAMP.' s 1 Application filed May 14e,

T 0 all w hom it may `concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR W. lWELLING- TON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Waterbury, in the county of New Haven l 5 andState of Connecticut, have invented a new and usefullmprovement in Flash .Light orv Battery Hand Lamps;and l do hereby declare thev following, when Vtaken in connect-ion with the accompanying drawings y10 and the characters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the same, and which said r'drawings constitute part of this application, and represent, in E 15 Fig. l a view in side elevation of aflashlight or battery hand-lamp constructed in accordance with my invention, ,showing the two terminal strips by broken lines.V

Fig. 2 a view thereof in central. longitudinal section. v

Fig. 3 an enlarged detached sectional view lof the cap or closure of the tubular lamp.-

case. v 1 y f Fig. 4 a detached plan View ,of the shallow, anged contact-cup which is insulated within the closure or cap of, the tubular lamp-case. L Fig. 5 an edge view thereof.

Fig. 6 a ydetached plan view of the ring employed for the insulation of the contactcup. Y Fig. 7 an edge view thereof. Fig. 8 a detached planview of the insulating disk located within the casecap-or closure. f y A Fig. v9 an edge view thereof. f

l 10 a detached plan view of the lower terminal-strip, showing its clearance opening by which it is insulated from the switchhousing. Y

My inventionrelates tol an improvement in that Vclass of flashlights or battery handlamps which are constructed with particular reference to preventing,short-circuiting and lthe consequentv wearing out of the batteries in case the lampvis placed'in a wire mailbasket or brought into'contact withmetal in such a way as to cause short-circuiting, the object being to produce a simple, conf venient and 'reliable lamp of the character described `in which the metal cap servingas fa closure forthe lowerend ofthe tubular lamp-case is permanently insulatedfrom the battery located I Nithin thesame.

1921. serialNoi 469,482..

YVith these ends in view,rf iny.i,nvention consists in a liashlight orbattery hand-lamp having certain details of construction ,as will oIIAsn be hereinafter describedland pointed' outjin g.

vthe claims.- I

In carrying out my `inventionQas Aherein shown, -I employ a *wider ytermural-strip 2 leading` downward' fromgthe,jcontact-rivet.

.ofA the switch vwhich .is locatedabout ymidway the .length of thek tubular v libre .lampf'casel 4 and which [consists ofy a housing [5 seucred byrivets 6,7 and 8 tothe casel, autfslidmg= ,contact-button', 9 carrying fa. spring-contact 1 lOzto engage with the` V contact-rivet when the button isV slid upward `or,forward,.and a push-button 11. mounted upon ,tl1`fS aid spring-contact 1 0. But I; do ;not limit self to using anyone type of switch, that shown being of standard c Onstruction.;V

The lowerend ofthestrip isbarried Jdownward through'v the ca s'efl.,l clasped over ythe edge thereof `as `at l2 so asto mal/Ie contact withthe-annulary flange .18, of ,a

shallow sheet-metal4contactrcup.:14` vinsulated y within the sheet 'metal-yca'po'r: l closure'1 5 which` has its` edge .forme d,with 'rolled-in threa'ds'fto adapt ittobejscrewed-upoma threaded, sheet-,metal '.assemblinggcollar i6 secured to the case Llga.ta point,:justabove the, lower edge thereof-as shown in Figlv 2. .l

Thesaid contact-cup lllfis insulated from thevcap lby means of an insulatingring'i? upon vvthe upperedgeof which its-.ange 1,3

rests as'shown in Fig. 3. For,ffasteninglthe 1 cup 14C to the ringvl7, thefformeris provided uponv itsllower edge two, retaining-lim gers 18 (Figs. 4 and' )and the .-latterfwith an annular groove or,A rabbet ,ldocated within its lower e dgeas sliownliniFig.v 3, the I said fingers being `bent outward 'into thefsaid groovel or rabbet blOW Whichftlie body por',-

tion of the lringextends for ,dis

tance 'to support the bottom'of thefc'upLlll cup is insulated therefrom, whether Lorjnot.

lan insulating disk' 20 .'(Figsi ai-idQf). is

terposed between them, as yshown in theJI said Fig. 3i A spiral springQl lQCbcdf within the :hookeddend' l2 of 'the terminall'fstri'p VAs lSh'OWIltlle Spring', 21 :is Sealife@ t@ the cup 14' by the passage,o'ffitsylower' coil amatore;essere man thereof as best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, but

other means for Asecuring the spring to the p cup may be resorted to, if desired.

Under the construction above described, ,the strip 2 is entirely insulated from the metal cap Y1,5 and assembling collar 16 so that no circuit can be accidentally' closed through the lower end of the lamp. Moreover the cup 14 with its annular flange 13, insures contact with the rhooked end 12 of the strip 2 in any rotated position of the cap or closure 15, i. e., whether the same is screwed more or less upon the said assembling-collar in assembling the lamp provided only that some portion of the flange 13 of the cup 14 is seated against the end 12 of the strip 2.

The upper contact strip 24 leads from the rivet 7 of the housing 5, and is clasped over the upper edge of the case 4 as at 25 in position to be engaged by the inwardly turned sok flange of the upper assembling: collar 26 which is secured to the case by rivets 27 and formed with rolled-in threads for the application of the flanged and threaded ring 28 by means of which the lens 29 is held down upon the reflector 30 the flanged upper` edge of which rests upon the inwardly turned flange of the collar 26. rlhe parts now being vdescribed are of standard construction, the reflector 30 receiving a lamp 31 the downwardly projecting stem 32 of which is engaged by the pole 33 of the battery 22 which is constantly pushed upward Ifor the maintenance of thiscontact by the spring 21 aforesaid.

By insulating in the manner described the exposed metal parts of the lower end of the lamp I prevent short circuiting in case the same is thrown into a wire basket or a metal bridge is established in some way between the metal parts at the upper and lower ends of the lamp. This result I effect through the medium of the insulated contact cup 14 and associated parts. Now to pre-v vent short'circuiting and the wearing `out ofthe battery by the accidental connection vof the switch housing 5 with the exposed metal parts at theupper end of the lamp, I form a clearance opening 35 in the wide lterminalstrip 2 so as to entirely insulate the said strip from the housing rivet 6 which the strip passes on its way to the contact-rivet 3. By this simple expedient of providing the terminal-strip 2 with a clearance-opening, I preclude the chances of short-circuiting `through the switch-housing 5.

My invention isnot concerned with the ldetailed construction of the lamp except in so far as I provide means for insulating the exposedl metal parts at its lower end vfrom the lower end of the llower terminal strip and insulating the housing of its switch from the upper end of the said s trip. 'i In other respects the lamp may be of standard construction,A as may be theswitch, as already explained.r If desired, a metal case or even a cardboard or glass case, may be used in place of a fibre case. In the event of using a metal case, the lower terminalstrip would be insulated therefrom. As already stated, the dislr 2() may be dispensed with, if desired.

I claim:

1. In abattery hand-lamp, the combination with a tubular case, of a switch mounted thereupon, a terminal-strip leading from the said switch to the lower end of the case and bent over to the edge thereof, a metal cap for the closure of the lower end of the case, a contact-cup insulated within the said cap and adapted to engage with the end of the 'said strip, and means for electrically connecting a battery located within the said case to the said cup. v

2. In a battery hand-lamp, the combination with a tubular case, of a metal cap for the closure of the lower end thereof, a terminal-strip located within the Ycase and fastened to the lower end thereof, a contact cup located within the said cap and normally engaging' with the said strip in any rotated position of the cap, rand an insulating` ring interposed between the cap and the cup for the insulation of the latter.

3. In a battery hand-lamp, the combination with a tubular case, of a metal cap for the closure of the lower end thereof, a terminal-strip located within the case and fastened to the lower end thereof, a contact cup located within the said cap and normally engaged by the said strip, and an insulating ring mounting the said contact cup and supporting the ysame above the bottom of the cap.

4. In a battery hand-lamp, the combination with a tubular case, of a metal cap for the closure of the lower end thereof, a terminal-strip located within the case, a flanged contact-cup located within the cap and formed with retaining-fingers, an insulating ring mounting the'said cup and engaged by t-he lingers thereof, wherebythe cup and ring are secured together, and means for electrically connecting the cup and battery when the latter is in place within the case.

5. In a battery hand-lamp, the combination with a tubular case, of a metal cap for the closure of the lower end thereof, a terminal-strip located within the case, an insulating-ring located within the said cap and having its lower end formed with a rabbet, and a flanged contact-cup mounted in the said ring in position to engage with the said strip and formed upon its llower edge with retaining-fingers which are entered into the said rabbet for holding the cup'and ring together. y l

6. In a battery 'handlamp`,vthe 'combina- 130 tion with a tubular case, of a metal cap for the closure of the lower end thereof, a terminal-strip, an insulating-ring located within lthe said cap, a flanged contact-cup mounted in the said ring upon which its flange rests and formed with loops and retaining-fingers which latter are engaged with the ring for securing the cup and ring together, and a spring located within the and having its lower coil passed through the loops thereof, the said spring serving to connect the cup with the battery and to hold the battery in place.

, In testimony whereof, I have signed this specioation in the presence of two sub l5 seribing witnesses.

ARTHUR W. WELLINGTON. Witnesses:

ADOLPH C. BECKER, J. S. NEAGLE. 

